“The myth by no means finds its adequate objectification in the spoken word. The structure of the scenes and the visible imagery reveal a deeper wisdom than the poet himself is able to put into words and concepts” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Filming is ongoing for Noah, Darren Aronofsky’s massive treatment of the Noah’s Ark story from Book of Genesis. The high-art production isn’t complete without an equally-prestigious cast, which Noah has in the form of Russell Crowe as the protagonist, Jennifer Connelly as Noah’s loyal wife, Ray Winstone as his “enemy,” Anthony Hopkins as his (almost) millennium-old grandfather, and Emma Watson as his daughter-in-law.

The first official image from Noah has popped up online, with Crowe sporting long scraggly hair, a grey-speckled beard, and a downtrodden expression that alludes to the weightiness of his task (serving as God’s prophet during a watery apocalypse). That’s in keeping with the character’s portrayal in Aronofsky and Ari Handel’s graphic novel source for the project.

Aronofsky has been teasing his Twitter followers with photos taken from the Noah shoot, which is currently underway in Iceland. Those image offerings include glimpses at the stony landmarks, chilling oceans, and stormy skies that are being photographed as backgrounds for the non-Ark oriented portions of the film (along with the central Ark set piece, being constructed in New York).

It’s never too early for controversy – when it comes to Hollywood adaptations of religious subject matter – and Aronofsky has already courted his fair share with comments about how he views Noah as “the first environmentalist.” Moreover, the idea that Crowe needs an opponent has left many scratching their heads; however, Winstone’s character sounds more like the embodiment of all doubt and disbelief plaguing Noah (externally and internally) while he is performing his God-sent orders.

Aronofsky’s interest in the theme of environmental apocalypse has prompted premature accusations that Noah distorts the Biblical story’s lessons about faith and human redemption into (essentially) heavy-handed allegory for pollution. However, one look at the trailer for Aronofsky and Handel’s original graphic novel suggests the story has much more of a barbaric, Old Testament-vibe when it comes to the portrayal of “a world ravaged by human sin.”

Noah reunites Aronofsky with director of photography Matthew Libatique (The Fountain, Black Swan), while also employing the services of set decorator Debra Schutt (the Boardwalk Empire pilot) and visual effects supervisor Marc Chu (Pirates of the Caribbean). That alone guarantees the film will be as gorgeous as its comic book counterpart - no matter how receptive (or not) the masses are to to the rest of Aronofsky’s interpretation.

That’s in keeping with the character’s portrayal in Aronofsky and Ari Handel’s graphic novel source for the project.

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“The myth by no means finds its adequate objectification in the spoken word. The structure of the scenes and the visible imagery reveal a deeper wisdom than the poet himself is able to put into words and concepts” – Friedrich Nietzsche

Some people have a fear of snakes. That was a somewhat rational fear. And you could do something about it at least. Stay away from long grass and nature documentaries. Easy. Others have a fear of heights. That was manageable too. Avoid tall ladders. But how do you cope when your fear is something you can’t avoid? That you have no hope of staying away from? Being afraid of the sky, where are you going to go?

Proof that anything a mutated neutrino and Roland Emmerich can do, God can do better (and first), Darren Aronofsky's Noah is currently at the pointy end of production. The whole shebang is coalescing into something seriously intriguing - after all, we're talking about the director of Pi, Requiem For A Dream and Black Swan tackling the first ever apocalypse - and our spies tell us that even the big guy upstairs is excited to be involved.

Someone else with a tingle of anticipation is Breaking Bad stalwart and old Aronofsky hand Mark Margolis, who plays a fallen angel known as Samyaza in the film. As he explained to Empire, he won't look anything like Breaking Bad's wheelchair-bound enforcer. "I play a 12-foot god," he said, "[and] most of my character will be created through CGI."

Shooting in Iceland, Margolis took the mantle of leader of a posse of six-armed angels known as the 'Watchers'. They're a giant breed of angels who have been at odds with God since the Fall - 'Samyaza' is another name for Satan - and likely to be a source of trouble for the Almighty, and Russell Crowe's Noah too.

"All of my scenes are with Russell [Crowe], who I found to be a very funny guy," said Margolis. "They used me and my voice, but they had a pole standing up from a backpack I was wearing, so that Russell had a sightline of a person 12 feet high. I hope that some of my facial movements are used in the final thing."

Reading between the lines, the connection between Noah and Samyaza could hold the heart of the drama. Those CG angels may conjure scary thoughts of Legion but, fear not, Aronofsky is just the man to avert this mighty dread.

Some people have a fear of snakes. That was a somewhat rational fear. And you could do something about it at least. Stay away from long grass and nature documentaries. Easy. Others have a fear of heights. That was manageable too. Avoid tall ladders. But how do you cope when your fear is something you can’t avoid? That you have no hope of staying away from? Being afraid of the sky, where are you going to go?

Paramount Pictures is moving Darren Aronofsky's biblical epic "Noah" to a currently unspecified summer 2014 date. The film was originally slated to wash up in theaters on March 28, 2014 and while no reason was given for the move (or an exact date), there must be some confidence to put it closer to the heart of blockbuster season. The film stars Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Logan Lerman, Anthony Hopkins and Emma Watson in a more fantastical take on the familiar Sunday School story, in what is the biggest cinematic endeavor of Aronofsky's career. We may have to wait a couple more months, but this is promising to be an event at the multiplex next year.

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“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

Darren Aronofsky talks the complexity of effects and using CGI animals in NoahSource: JoBlo

Director Darren Aronofsky is deep into editing on his upcoming film, NOAH, the biblical epic starring Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ray Winstone, Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Kevin Durand, Douglas Booth, and Anthony Hopkins. Speaking to DGA Quarterly, Aronofsky opened up about how he's tackling such a large-scale film, giving details about the challenges of shooting with effects in mind, the "tweaking" of the animals, having the most complex shot in ILM history, and the decision not to use real animals. Check out the highlights below.

Aronofsky on the major effects in NOAH:"There are fantastical creatures, fantastical events. There’s a huge deluge. What you’re photographing is often not the thing that will appear on screen—that’s the underpinning. There will be a huge amount of visual architecture placed on top of that, and that sort of makes it a different job. Sometimes only the actor’s face will be in the final image.”

Aronofsky on the "look" of the animals in the film:“All the animals in the movie are slightly tweaked; I didn’t want the clichéd polar bear, elephant, and lion walking onto the Ark; I didn’t want the shot of a giraffe’s head looking over the rail. I wanted to respect the storyline and think what would have been involved if it all really happened.

We basically went through the animal kingdom and pinpointed the body types we wanted: some pachyderms, some rodents, reptiles, and the bird kingdom. We chose the species and they were brought to life with different furs and colors. We didn’t want anything fully recognizable but not completely absurd either.”

Aronofsky on having the most complicated rendering in ILM’s history involving the animals on the Ark:“It was a nice badge of honor. I don’t think it’s the most incredible shot, but I think because of all the hair on the animals it was incredibly complicated for them. They said, ‘We can only render it two or three more times so make sure those are exactly right because they take so long and are so complex.’”

Aronofsky on the decision to not use real animals:“I think we’ve learned from people who have done it before that that’s a really bad move. Politically it’s not a great thing to work with live animals and that’s becoming more apparent to people as time goes by, but also, technically, it would have been extremely difficult. And we’ve learned from lots of other films how hard it is to bring different kinds of animals together.”

I'm excited for NOAH, especially with Aronofsky at the helm. With a stellar cast and a cool take on an old tale, I think it will be a tremendous film. Aronofsky has proven time and again that he is a talent to be reckoned with and I look forward to seeing how he handles an epic of this size. It sounds, as usual, that he's taken great care and pains to ensure that the film is something original and one that carries his personal vision to the big screen.NOAH sets sail on March 28, 2014.

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“Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art.” - Andy Warhol

Darren Aronofsky's Noah Springs A LeakStudio and filmmaker at odds over final cut?

This week's The Hollywood Reporter shines a light on the murky world of the final cut with news that Darren Aronofsky's Noah has hit heavy seas at Paramount. The Russell Crowe-starring Biblical epic is deep into its lengthy post-production phase and the scuttlebutt is that early preview screenings have raised blood pressures on Melrose Avenue.

The film has been screened in New York, Arizona and Orange County, California, to take its temperature with Jewish and Christian audiences, as well as the public at large. Their feedback, reports THR, has raised concerns that Aronofsky's singular interpretation of the Flood and its aftermath will struggle to find an evangelical fanbase within any of those groups.

But Paramount vice chairman Rob Moore has been swift to reject suggestions that the studio is locked in a battle over final cut with its director, pointing out that a "normal preview process" will end with "one version of the movie that Darren is overseeing". The expectation was always for a length period in post, he points out, and it's fair to say that testing is pretty much de rigeur on a movie of this size and budget.

Paramount, which split the movie's $125 million budget with New Regency Pictures, has acknowledged Aronofsky's need for creative autonomy, so any arm-wrestling over the version of Noah that finally hits screens next year should be considered in that context. You don't hire the director of Black Swan to make The Greatest Story Ever Told.

Adds Moore: "We're getting to a very good place, and we're getting there with Darren."

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Some people have a fear of snakes. That was a somewhat rational fear. And you could do something about it at least. Stay away from long grass and nature documentaries. Easy. Others have a fear of heights. That was manageable too. Avoid tall ladders. But how do you cope when your fear is something you can’t avoid? That you have no hope of staying away from? Being afraid of the sky, where are you going to go?